Comment by AB: Closing reception for "Frontrunners, a survey of new work from the recipients of the competitive Jack and Gertrude Murphy Fellowships and the Edwin Anthony and Adelaine Bourdeaux Cadogan Fellowships in the Fine Arts. The exhibition identifies young artists whose work connects directly to the pulse of emerging trends and showcases the work of promising visual artists from regional Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) programs working across disciplines." The artists each receive $3500 Fellowship tuition awards; one wins an additional $3500 Juror's Choice tuition award.

The selection's pretty worthy all the way around. The masking tape light post with red balloons particularly impresses as does a substantial knotted rope installation suspended from the ceiling and resting on the floor.

Comment by AB: David Huffman's pyramid of 650 basketballs holds court in the center of the gallery and practically devours the show. All 650 will eventually be donated to local charities-- functional art of the most noble order. In the video room, one of Huffman's Traumanauts is out for a walk in the woods. On a more serious note, Elizabeth Axtman essays in video on a relatively recent Louisiana incident where a Justice of the Peace refused to marry a mixed-race couple. And at 155 Grove Gallery, Travis Somerville's impressive set of painted building blocks combine to form six different scenes, all of which will be presented tonight, each commemorating an historic race or ethnicity-related San Francisco uprising.

Comment by AB: According to the handout, Linda Karshan's minimalist freehand grids reference everything from texts and plays by Plato and Samuel Beckett to psychology to the "geometry of inner structures." She's evolved her mark-making over the course of twenty years.

Comment by AB: Seattle artist Jamie Bollenbach tells me his paintings have to do with memories, in particular, how we recall specific individuals when thinking back on them. Our recollections are typically fragmented, blends of different times, places interactions or events, and that's what his compositions are intended to represent. Works for me.

Comment by AB: I ask Todd Bura about his paintings. His answers range from willfully convoluted to complete gibberish; he clearly cares not a whit whether I come away with clue #1 about what he's up to. Now if I was one of those writers who believes in calling out arrogant elitist punks, I'd probably say something. But I'm not, so I won't. The good news? Bura tells me he really likes his art, so that pretty much absolves me of any obligation in that regard as well. I bet I would have liked it more with a little expository.

On a more pleasant note, Madiha Siraj plasters "The Ellipsis Space" (aka rear gallery) floor to ceiling with color swatches making for a rather engaging installation.